There’s a picture of Blondie performing at Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood. It’s 1977 and Debbie Harry is on her knees, microphone held tightly in her fist, kohl rimmed eyes enticing the baying crowd. I imagine the atmosphere is frenetic, dirty, hungry, but I’m not thinking about that, I’m thinking, how is she managing to work a stripy top with a spotty skirt and still look good?
 

In this modern time of Kate Moss-alikes and celebrity stylists it’s not easy to find a rising starlet who just does it for herself, who shuns style for so-what, and who doesn’t wear it because she should, or because she shouldn’t, but just because. The fashion industry today is not what it was when Blondie was around. Celebrity culture had not yet shown women how to match their Balmain leggings with their Balenciaga totes, or taught us legs or cleavage, but never both. Debbie Harry, a former Playboy Bunny, only had her budding sense of style, a handful of thrift stores and her next door neighbour to guide her through the 70’s melee of female fashion.

 
Debbie Harry was born in 1945 in Florida, if not for her adoption and subsequent move to the tough streets of New Jersey; she may never have gained the steel eyed edge that influenced her girl-punk look. As a teenager Harry would “dress in black everyday and pretend to be tough,” and the name she became synonymous with was borne from the dirty mouths of lurid truck drivers calling, “Come on Blondie, give us a screw.” Indeed, the blonde hair, the wide-set angled eyes and the impeccable cheekbones could have given rise to another vacant wannabe had Harry not lived a little, and then lived a little more.
 

In the 1977 video for ‘Denis,’ nothing more than a ripped, red and white swimsuit and a black blazer cover Harry’s figure. It is a look that really shouldn’t work, just like the blue romper suit, blue tights and blue shoes that she showcased in the ‘Call Me’ video. While most would resemble a maligned blueberry, Blondie’s front woman looks cool, effortless and never, ever like she’s tried too hard.

Debbie Harry herself, never did try too hard. By her own admission Stephen Sprouse designed and styled much of her wardrobe. For those not familiar with Sprouse, he was the 80’s designer, whose collaboration with Marc Jacobs in 2001 spawned the era defining mytheresa.com, the Online-Shop for Designer FashionLouis Vuitton graffiti print handbag. Sprouse’s cavalier creations were heavily influenced by both his nostalgia for the New York underground of the 60’s, and his emerging new-wave sensibilities. In 1975, in an apartment in the Bowery district of New York, Sprouse met an as yet unknown singer. With her downtown, devil-may-care vibe, Debbie Harry was the perfect subject for Sprouse’s experimental style. The one-strap shoulder dress Harry wore in the ‘Heart of Glass’ video was a Stephen Sprouse original, designed from a photograph he had taken of static lines in the television. In Harry, Sprouse found a willing partner for his fashion crimes, one that was happy to not just break the rules, but rewrite them entirely.
 

There are countless punk-style tees hanging in countless wardrobes, right now. They have the face of a kohl-rimmed eyed Debbie Harry staring out from under that side swept fringe, and she is wearing a mass of opulently coloured lipstick. When the picture was taken, maybe she was wearing her thigh high leather boots, maybe she had on socks with sandals (yes, she did it long before Fearne Cotton thought it was cute) or perhaps she has on an original Stephen Sprouse. Whatever she was wearing she will have been doing it with that trademark attitude and confidence, she will have been making the outfit superfluous to requirements. This is why Debbie Harry, Blondie, whichever you want to call her, is an enduring style icon, because she taught us one of the best lessons of all; it’s not about what you wear, it’s all about how you wear it.

Words by Emma Grainger.

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